Sunday, August 3, 2014

My husband and I had an interesting experience this summer while on our thirty day camping trip across several states. This encounter was all about personal space. We were pulling our travel trailer and had parked in our assigned spot in a crowded RV park. The following morning we went out sightseeing in our car for a few hours and when we returned, another family had pulled in and set up camp in the space next to us. We have a 17 ft. fiberglass travel trailer. They had an RV the size of a semi truck with bump outs pulling an approximately 16 foot open trailer for the kids' bicycles and a four-seater off highway vehicle. You get the picture!

We pulled into our spot and they immediately spoke to us in a friendly way when we exited our car. We exchanged some basic conversation with them about where we lived, introduction of our names, etc. They were nice people. They'd put out a large area rug and in the center was a game table/footstool piece of portable equipment. Four people...a dad and mom and two teens were sitting around it stretched out in comfortable camp chairs along with their large poodle who was on a leash. The five year old twins were supposed to be napping inside the behemoth of an RV, but our arrival had perked up their inquisitive ears.

It didn't take long for us to realize our camping space had greatly decreased in square footage since we'd left that morning. The picnic table for their spot had been moved so it was now definitely in our space....behind our trailer.

Although I admit to bristling a little, we really didn't need that space for anything. But I must say that there was little placid and pleasant natural space in between the two spots. You know....the space that has a tree, some grass, something that provides a little buffer zone. Our privacy had shrunk!

Because I'm ADD, sitting outside in our portable chairs which were pretty cramped was not an option for me as I could easily hear their gregarious conversations and found it impossible to concentrate. So I went into the trailer to read. Rich put in ear buds and stayed outside to read.

Later I was thinking about how difficult it could have been. They could have been drunk, used constant profanity, ignored "quiet hours" or had an annoying yippie barking dog. None of those things happened. Instead they seemed to be a pretty happy family enjoying each other, playing Battleship and making plans to go fishing. We were leaving early in the morning so it was no big deal. Rich and I both had a laugh about it....the fact that they made some assumptions about things and invaded our personal space.

As we were getting ready to pull out the next morning, I was making one last trip over to the trash bin area before we left the park and Rich said to me in a loud whisper trying not to wake the sleeping neighbors, "Oh, watch out. There is a big pile of dog poop right there behind our trailer." Again, I had to chuckle as that is a big "no-no" in campgrounds. You are supposed to pick up your dog's poop, right? I mean, that's a given.

Anyway, it got me thinking about personal space and how people have such different patterns of behavior. We are all raised in different families and families have different so called "rules." That's where the conflict begins....assumptions, rules, etc.

It made me think of a conversation I had with my friend, Marty Moseley, a couple years ago. Marty said a cool idea for a tee-shirt would be "Create a traffic jam on the High Road." This was one of those "when in doubt, take the high road" moments. It feels good to give up rights and just let things go. Less drama, less stress. After all, we were on vacation. Actually, life on the High Road can be pretty nice.

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"Perspectives" is a place where I'll be tossing out some concepts and ideas I'm pondering. I hope that my words will give you pause in the midst of your busy life. As we think about work, play, relationships, and spiritual matters, may you engage in some insightful, life-changing thought along with me.